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One little reason I'm taking my DS out of Public school.

DS is a fairly normal 9 year old boy. He likes Star Wars, Video games, and playing games that involve guns or weapons of some kind.

He has been suspended from school Monday, because he put together a few Lego's in a shape that could be thought of as a gun. He says it was a magic wand that takes the powers of people away. He was pointing it at people and making a noise that the teacher thought sounded like a gun. She asked him about it and he told her what it was. She didn't believe him, he's made guns before, and told him he wouldn't be able to play with Lego's for the rest of the year. He said "At school right? I can play with my Lego's at home if I want." So now he's suspended because they don't allow weapons of any kind, no talking about weapons, not talking about violence, and no talking about death or dieing.

I DO understand why they have that rule. Kids shoot other kids for real, just a couple of weeks ago there was a bomb at the Middle school up the street from us, and it wasn't that long ago that a boy in the third grade like DS is took a gun to school and accidentally shot another child in the stomachwhen it went off in his backpack. I think they take it a bit too far though. Kids whose parents hunt can't talk about it, DS can't talk about what his Granddaddy does because he collects and sells guns. They even prefer the kids not to talk about it when someone in their family dies.

Well, at least there are only 17 days of school left, and then we will be free.

My DH has agreed to let me enroll DS in Connections Academy for next year, but he wants DS to finish up this year in the school he is in right now.

DH isn't happy with the school as it is, but he also doesn't think that I'll be able to keep DS on task during the school day. I don't force DS to do his homework, he knows what will happen if he doesn't do it, and I always follow through with the consequences we have set out, DH thinks that means that I'll be too wishy-washy and that DS's education will suffer because of it. I, of course don't agree. We have compromised with the Virtual on-line public school situation, so that we have some kind of structure, DH will feel like there are more rules and guidelines about schooling, and I'll have the support from the school and DH AND have teachers to back me up if need be. So we will work with things as they are for now.

DS knows that he isn't supposed to make guns in school, and now he knows he isn't supposed to make any kind of thing that could even remotely be thought of as a weapon of any kind, not even wands. He can build houses or cars. All he has to do is to keep the teachers happy until the end of school.

So we will continue with things as they are right now. (DH is getting closer to my view point about Home Schooling every time DS gets in trouble for something like this.) And then we will do things MY way. =)

I grew up in a time and place where guns were just a part of everyday life. Nearly all the kids I knew went hunting with their families at least once a year. We were all taught, at home and at school, not to touch guns without a responsible adult there to supervise. In school we talked about guns, usually in relation to hunting. We all knew that guns killed and really understood what that means. Of course we were in a farming area, people either owned animals or lived around other people who did. We all saw death as a natural part of life, just like we saw birth and even sex as normal and natural. So maybe our area, and our schools were different than others at that time.

I would rather teach kids to respect weapons than to fear them. For a lot of kids, especially boys it seems, telling them not to talk about something makes them want to talk about it even more. So since they are going to talk about it anyway, why not teach them some rules about being around guns?

DS is looking forward to having a lesson with his Granddaddy about guns when we go on vacation up there this summer. My Dad can show him some guns, tell him all about them, and even take him out to shoot one if he thinks it would help DS to understand the reality of guns.

Sorry this got a bit disjointed. I typed the thoughts as them came to me, and that might be a bit confusing. LOL Anyway, thanks for your support and comments.

I am no fan of guns but if we dont let are kids no whats out there how will they know how to deal with it or handel a situation which god for bid may come up .There is also no need to think that if a child plays or pretends guns that heis going to grow up to be a killer.Back in the days children use to watch cowboys so what is the bid deal .Once you teach your kids the right thing just keep drilling it in there head and most likely they will do whats right .Also thats crazy why is it a problem to talk about dying come on we all are born and we all die we have to stop ignoring things and pushing them under the rug like it wont happen or wont come up because it will an i dont think we want are kids to be caught off guard .I belive you should always be honest with your kids and tel and explain them as best as you can especially depending on the age of the child .

I am 38. When I was a kid I would play with my boy cousins and of course it was cops and robbers and so forth. I do not recall ever hearing about kids bringing guns to school or anything like we deal with now. Personally i think the schools have made these subjects so taboo that it sparks kids interest more.

My neighbor's boy, who is in K, got suspended because he was sitting down coloring, his female class mate was standing up next to him and he tried to get her attention to ask her for the crayon she was using and the teacher thought his hand was too close to her behind and classified it as sexual harrassement.

They made him cry and my neighbor was so upset.

What kid doesn't play with made up guns? When I was little I always played Cowboys and Indians with my cousins and shot each other with our hands and we didn't grow up shooting people with real guns. It's sad when we don't allow kids to be kids.

wow I find it so sad that the schools are that dangerous that they feel the need to do all that... :( well anyway I would rather him be at home if his 3rd? grade teacher is that worried about kids his age shooting each other

how sad and it seems they allow the bullies to get by with their bullying. i would like the congress to pass a law that mental, emotional, verbal and spiritual abuse children and adults could be charged. my ex husband said why you want me to go to jail, i said no i want the judge to send people to clases on how to treat people right. i would like the school system teach the 4 R;s reading, writing, arthmatic and RESPECT. so years ago i did a word study on respect. took the first meaning respect and looked up every word in that meaning and did that to the next meaning all the way down. what did i find. purity and chasity is respect. o my that would ruin the powers at be their value clarification objective. my daughter at 14 in 1984 came home and i was talking to her i did not want her to follow my example cuz of abuse as a child and was just then learning how to overcome the syptoms of that abuse and she said "o mom i just have different values". hmm i just heard a program on Dr. James Dobson's program about this and this is what they said would happen to our children. well then i knew i had lost her and she would not listen to what i had to say. being a single mom does not help in this kind of situation. and having your family of parents, grandparents all other family around is so very important. For i seen the difference in families lifes when they had this compared to being a single mome

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